Tuesday, May 3, 2011

On Friday April 22, photography students from the University of Nevada put their work on display at several of the downtown bars.The exhibit I observed was called, “Human Landscape” by Brin Reynolds.This exhibit was made up of eight different photographs which depicted parts of the human body in such a way that they appeared as geographical features such as hills and valleys.It was very well done work whether it was from a student or a professional and the nudity was not done in poor taste at all.I also was very pleased to see the local bars supporting the students and the arts.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

One Lecture that really stood out to me was one that actually took place before the semester began, “China Town” by Lucy Raven.It was particularly interesting to see something being portrayed that I would never have thought of as art.I grew up in the mining community of rural Nevada and have spent a lot of time working at various mines.I’ve gone through the monotonous long shifts and worked with the equipment but never thought someone might see an artistic side to this environment.Its almost ironic to me because almost all of these mines are located next to beautiful mountains and I’ve often just stopped and looked around thinking about how amazing this desert can be.To see someone go past what I thought was the artistic scenery and capture this industrial process to be portrayed is really interesting to think about.

Another peculiar thing to me is that I’ve never known the mines to allow photo documentation of their sites other than for their own use.The mines are virtually governed by an incredibly strict organization called MSHA(mine safety and health administration).Even though it’s just called safety and health they control everything that is conducted on any minesite in the U.S.

The key aspect of this was the connection that the process of the ore creates among two nations that have very little in common. One thing about art is it doesn’t have to focus on beauty or nature; it can simply be something that makes you think.This work intrigues its viewers even with mundane assembly line type of industry.